Childhood Redux
by Goddess Of Heather
Summary: SEQUEL TO THE INNER CHILD
1. Robbie's ball bites the dust

Title: Death of a Friend

Summary: Sequel to The Inner Child. MUST READ TO UNDERSTAND

AN: These are a series of shorts that follow The Inner Child. Each one is it's own story, but rather that list them that way I'm listing them as chapters in this story Childhood Redux, which is actually the name of the series sequel. Got that?

Robbie had entered into the school system in the middle of the year so joining the footy team was out of the question unless a player suffered an injury. Even though he was looking forward to the next season and playing in refereed game, Robbie was enjoying being close to House after school and there was always a pick up game going Saturdays in the park. He was bent over some English homework when a man came in. He was wild and disheveled, three days growth of beard like House, but it didn't look quite as purposeful, more like an afterthought. "Which one of you is House?"

"Skinny brunet."

"No that's Dr. Cameron." Robbie felt a frisson of fear shoot through him. It couldn't explain it, but there was something off about this guy, House picked up on it too, or at least his unease. Standing up Robbie looked around him, used to assessing areas for weapons, projectiles or shields. He watched incredulously as the man lifted a gun and Robbie quickly kicked his ball in the air and aimed it at the intruder.

"Everyone down!" Robbie cried out not waiting to see if his soccer ball flew true. Moving quickly he dumped over the metal table and ducked behind it as a loud bang echoed in the room. Glancing over the top, he couldn't believe that he was the only one that seemed to be moving. The gunman seemed a bit shocked that House wasn't being offered to him on a platter and those two drongos1 of House's were just standing there. House himself just stood there shocked. Spotting the ball rolling by after bouncing off the gunman, Robbie glances about and quickly ducks out, snatching his ammo up and sending it back toward the loon with the gun. Again not waiting, Robbie instead reached for House's arm and tugged him behind his makeshift barrier and hissing at the two other doctors, "get down!"

Another shot rang out pinging off the table, and that seemed to galvanize Foreman and Cameron who quickly took cover with House and Robbie. "What's the plan?" Foreman hissed.

Robbie rolled his eyes. "That loon's already shot two bullets. The gun only holds six. Plus security is bound to be on the way. All we have to do is hang on for a few more minutes."

"Yeah well," another shot echoes and they all stare at the dent in the table, "I don't think we're going to last that long."

Robbie pulled out a pocket knife and angled it to reflect directly over the table. House, still reeling from shock, could only watch in disbelief, completely gobsmacked2 at the whole thing.

Robbie eyes widening reached for his fallen book bag and abruptly swung it up and over the table. Listening, they all flinched as a yell and gun shot sounded. Then to everyone's relief they heard two sequential shouts of "freeze!" and they were gasping for air. Foreman made to stand up but Robbie, placed a hand on his knee and shook his head. Frowning Foreman followed Robbie's order, well really it was more like a suggestion. There were some clicking noises and House was about to die from not knowing what was going on when he heard, "Okay it's clear."

Everyone stood up and surveyed the damage. Robbie's book bag had a prominent hole going through it and there were papers all over the floor from where Robbie had over turned it, the white board was tipped on it's side and part of the patients symptoms smudged. They watched as the rent-a-cop (House as a thank you, vowed to never call them that to their faces again, as well as some of his personal favorites like fakin' bacon, monkey's with guns, blue boys, little boys in blue...perhaps he should send a fruit basket as well) cuffed and led the lunatic screaming down the hall. Guy kept yelling about how he was righting some big evil, mission from God or some such crap. Robbie was much too concerned with his soccer ball.

House, tearing his eyes away from the corridor that the guard and gunman had disappeared down looked back at the other security guard. "Did you call Cuddy?" The guard nodded and looking at his two fellows, he could tell that they were okay too. Those lab coats might be itchy but they certainly did show blood well.

Now that the smaller inconsequential things were taken care of he could focus on Robbie without being interrupted. Turning House located the young boy kneeling on the ground, rocking something in his arms. Approaching slowly House finally got a good look and realized it was Robbie's soccer ball, somehow in the scuffle it got shot and had come apart. House levered himself down next to Robbie, wincing, knowing that he would be in for a rough night from his leg. "Hey, Kiddo." Robbie looked up tears streaming down his face

"It's gone. Destroyed." House reached out and gathered Robbie to him, leaning against the wall to support them he felt when Robbie let go and really started to sob. House rubbed up and down Robbie's back, muttering about how he would get him a new ball, nicer, that everything would be okay, that he was okay. Robbie was really going now and House was seriously worried about Robbie's reaction. He had been so calm during the whole thing, so brave and now he seemed completely broken. House knew that it wasn't really the ball, but what the ball meant to Robbie.

That soccer ball was the first thing that House had ever bought Robbie, something that Robbie had clung to and carried with him everywhere at first because it was the first thing he'd owned in his new life. Probably his first present in a long time. House continued to rub Robbie's back and felt Robbie starting to slow down, finally calming. House looked up as Cuddy came storming in heels clicking violently on the tiled floor. Shooting her a warning glance, hoping that she would catch on and realize that shouting would be heavily frowned upon. Catching her eye explained in short clipped words what had happened and what Robbie had done. House watched as Cuddy's face went from outrage to shock to awe. House felt something prickling at his heart and finally realized it was pride. Robbie had done that. Robbie had saved them and saved him. Robbie, was riding his own emotional roller coaster and wasn't really paying attention to what House and Cuddy were saying, and he slowly drifted into sniffing, House could feel him becoming sleep heavy and shifted a bit restlessly under the weight. He could feel his leg starting to stiffen and quietly asked Cuddy to get Wilson.

House sighed in relief when Wilson came up five minutes later. Robbie was well and truly asleep and House was loath to wake him. With just a few glances House and Wilson seemed to communicate an entire plan because without speaking Wilson leaned down and lifted Robbie from House's arms and waited patiently for House to unfold himself from the floor.

Walking out Cuddy knew she should stop him, wait for the cops to show up so they could give their statements, but she also knew that House wouldn't be stopped unless armed forces were brought into the equation. She sighed in exasperation, she knew that House's attitude would come back to bite them all but she never really thought it would be quite so dramatic or such bad publicity.

**1 Drongo :** a dope, stupid person

2 **Gobsmacked :** surprised, astounded


	2. The first days of School

The First Days of School

House was amazed at how much paper work was involved in enrolling a child at a new school. There were no transcripts for Robbie's schooling, lost in a mysterious "fire", so that meant testing, lots and lots of standardized tests. Robbie had never had to take a standardized test before, and while it wasn't rocket science, he still left the testing area frazzled. There was large gaps in Robbie's education in regards to the American education system. He was more advanced in maths and sciences, which were universal, but had gaps in language and history. This was making him even more difficult to place. Eventually it was decided to place him in the sixth grade but give more advanced math and science classes with seventh graders.

Robbie was excited about school. It had been a month and half since the move, Robbie and House had settled into a rhythm of life, and at this point Robbie was getting a little bored. Pick up games of footie in the park were all well and good, but he needed more peer interaction. While he was hanging out at House's office he learned things, but a lot of the information being thrown around was too advanced for even a smart boy like him.

House was nervous about the first day of school for Robbie, not like a parent on the first day, because those people were morons, but nervous in the way that someone might figure out that Robbie shouldn't be with House and would take him away. Most parents run through a check list like: lunch money, pencils and the key to let themselves get in after school. House knew that Robbie had taken care of all that and wasn't worried, no their list was Robbie's faked background. Who his mother was, how he got to the US, why House was taking care of him. The story had to be flawless, but not sound fake or rehearsed. Which of course meant that they had practiced every piece of it backward and forward, with pauses for thinking and specific word bumbles to make it seem spontaneous. House left nothing to chance. Well, okay so that was a big fat lie, he left just about everything to chance, but not Robbie.

House was in his office, specifically not brooding about Robbie. Honestly, he was just having a run of bad luck on Supermario, he wasn't distracted by watching the clock at all. House barely registered the sounds of Mario biting the big one once again. House looked over at his two smirking fellows and snorted in disgust. God, he had turned into such a softie, and he wasn't fooling anyone. House tossed the Gameboy to the side and stared at the clock to will it to go faster. He reached into to his pocket for some Vicodin before remembering that Robbie had his pills. House was surprised to realize that he was reaching for the Vicodin just to pass the time. Robbie should have been here by now. House was about three seconds away from ordering Wilson to drive him somewhere, not because Robbie would be there but just to have a purpose, something to do.

Just as he was about to go insane, or at least crazier, Robbie showed up. House wasn't sure what he expected, but it wasn't the despondent little boy that walked in. House snatched up the Gameboy. No reason for Robbie to know he was such a softie, and if Robbie didn't feel pressured to talk then well that was just a side effect. After several minutes of silence House finally asked over the beeps of his game, "so what happened?"

Robbie fumed a bit. "They made fun of me."

"For what?" House pretended to be engrossed in his game.

"For spelling colour with a u." The little anger that Robbie had soon fled and Robbie went back to just being despondent. "She called me stupid."

"Who? A girl in your class?"

"No. The teacher." Robbie sniffled. House sighed and put the Gameboy to the side. He was furious on the inside, but he had learned quickly in that Robbie thought any anger that was expressed was directed at him and assumed he had done something wrong.

House shuffled over and sat down next to Robbie. Trying to offer support by mere physical presences. Heaven knows what would come out of his mouth if he tried to offer verbal support. Robbie broke down into tears quickly but House got the gist of the story. He was also smart enough to know that Robbie wasn't crying because a teacher called him stupid but because Robbie was finally releasing his feelings of turmoil for everything that had been happening recently. Robbie had been so stoic and calm. House knew that he would break eventually. No one, no matter how emotionally adjusted they were, and Robbie and House were no where near adjusted, could go through displacement in time and space like Robbie and not have a break down _ever_. House wasn't surprised but that didn't mean he was ready for it.

Even hysterical Robbie wasn't violent. House had seen a lot of hysterical people in his time (several excited into that state by him) and most turned outward. They hit things, people, walls, anything in reach. Very few people ever do something that he called an emotional implosion. Even when people had a melt down and didn't strike at things around them they struck at themselves externally, pulling hair, biting nails. Manifestations of their emotional upheaval. Robbie had none of that. He was one of the few true imploders, all of his energy was directed inward, even his crying was quiet, muffled into House's pants. House knew there was nothing to do, he just had to ride out the crying jag, and hope that used up Robbie's energy. House knew that imploders were the types that bottled everything up and ended up slitting their wrists one night.

Eventually Robbie cried himself to sleep and House managed to get them home with the help of Foreman. Once Robbie was taken care of House had the chance to let himself get angry. How could that stupid, stupid teacher be allowed to teach? Well, House, fumed and thought and came up with a plan. It was tricky because House couldn't make a big bru-ha-ha like he wanted to. A big fuss would only draw unwanted attention. His revenge had to be ...subtle. He didn't do it often, but when he did no one knew it happened, which is why no one thought he could do subtle.

Two Months Later...

"House! House!" Robbie came running in. All the fellows turned toward Robbie. "Mrs. Goldsmith quit! There's this rumor going around that she cheated on her husband and got pregnant. Their getting a divorce or something like that."

Cameron looked shocked and Foreman looked disinterested. "That's weird. It sounds like one of House's soap operas." When they turned to look at House he just stared back, not saying anything, looking rather smug. Of course, House usually looked rather smug so this situation wasn't that different. But then House usually had something to say about everything.


	3. Cain, Abel and Robbie

Title:Cain, Able and Robbie

Summary: Chase is a child so how would the Episode Cain and Able go?

Spoilers: Big ones for episode 3x02 (but none for long term plots since this is complete AU

Notes: I took a lot of this from straight from the script. There isn't as much Robbie in it as I'd like, but it was really interesting re-writing these lines for different characters. It might be even more interesting for you guys to realize how these lines have changed by reading the script or re-watching the episode. I know I wouldn't notice some of the subtle changes I made. I wish I had a beta reader for this, so if there is someone out there interested, please let me know. Jules-foles—you owe me a chapter now! :-)

House limped into the Diagnostics department pleased with himself over getting Ms. Goldsmith (aka the ignorant bitch) in trouble. A little snooping, one teacher-parent conference and he had all the information he needed to perpetrate a subtle punishment. Of course because no one knows he was doing it to defend Robbie then it doesn't warn anyone else away from messing with him, but it does feel oh so darkly delicious. This of course doesn't mean anything to Foreman or Cameron, except for the fact that he's about to roll into work in a terrific mood. Classes have been going well. House would never, ever be caught dead grading tests, so he made one test for the class, the final exam, which was essay. Easy to write and easy to grade because he just handed them off to Cameron. This got him out of the clinic and also cut down on the case load that Cuddy expected. The new apartment was working out, Robbie was precocious and dated, but seemed to be managing school, and Robbie's drug management plan was working out surprisingly well. In summation House was doing great. That's why he knew it wouldn't last. Something would happen. But he was never one to waste a high by worrying, so here he was strolling into Diagnostics high on life. Oh God, did he really just think that? That was one of those trite stupid utterances that the sheep say. Well at least no one will catch him actually saying something as asinine as 'high on life'.

"Well kids what do we have for me to teach to my class today?" House asks as he flops into a chair and proceeds to balance it on two legs like a bored 16 year old in English class.

Foreman leaned forward, "7 year old boy, bleeding from the rectum and-,"

"Boring!" House interrupts.

"AND," Foreman emphasizes the word, practically shouting, "he thinks he's being abducted by aliens."

House sits up, shifting his chair onto all four legs, suddenly at attention. "That's more interesting."

Cameron disagrees, "most likely he's being sexually abused. Rectal bleeding plus alien abduction

fantasy is most likely sexual abuse. Penetration causes the bleed, trauma causes the fantasy."

Foreman defends his interest in the case, "ER ran a rape kit, found no evidence of tearing, semen, or pubic hairs. There is new research indicating a link between neurological problems and bleeding disorders."

"So, I take it you don't believe in aliens?" House asks in a snide voice that doesn't actually reveal his own personal beliefs. But derides whatever Foreman may think, either way.

Foreman scoffed right back, not intimidated in the least, "I suppose you do believe in aliens?"

"I'm not arrogant enough," Foreman mutters under his breath, "since when" but House continued without blinking an eye, "to think that of the 50 billion galaxies, 100 billion stars per galaxy, and like 10 gazillion planets in the universe that we're the only ones with life. Although," House interjected thoughtfully, "I highly doubt that anything intelligent would like shoving things through our back doors."

House was suddenly bored with the whole thing, "He's having nightmares. Nightmares aren't a symptom of anything, other than wanting to sleep with Mommy. Which just leaves us with one symptom: the bloody tuchas, which can easily be explained by a GI problem or a bleeding disorder. Check his coags with PT, PTT, and bleeding time. And prep him for endoscopies from above and below."

Foreman talks as the does the bleeding time test, "!'m going to make a tiny nick in your forearm. Then I'm going to time how long it takes for you to stop bleeding. Now, this is going to sting, so you should turn and look the other way." Foreman makes a quick decisive cut, and notes the time on a clipboard.

Foreman is staring intently at Clancy's arm when he speaks up, "are those windows locked?"

Foreman's eyes flickered in the window's direction briefly, but his back was to it and he didn't see the need to turn and look. "Those windows can't open."

Foreman is staring intently at his watch and Clancy's arm and almost missed the unusual amount of relief his statement brought, "Good, 'cause they know I'm here."

The parents were hovering as close to the bed as they dared, the mother worrying her hands briefly. "Clancy, don't bother the doctor with this stuff."

"It's okay Ma'ma." Foreman said off hand, most of his attention was still focused on Clancy's arm and the watch.

Clancy takes this distracted statement as an invitation to have a paranoid vent, "they put a chip in my neck so they can keep track of me. I can feel it back there." Clancy tries to move his arm, to reach his neck but Foreman stops him.

"Don't move your arm!"

Clancy's mother sighs, an exhalation of air that was so weary, it was a wonder she had the energy for it, "Clancy, you know there is nothing back there."

Clancy is like all children, oblivious to their parents pain. Unlike most children though, he was positive that he was being abducted by aliens and that, "There is! I can feel it back there!"

Foreman's gaze is still fixed, but he's more tuned into the conversation, "Your mom's right Clancy, there's no chip back there."

"No! No! It is there and they have this other thing, and they put it in between these two ribs, always on this side, and then they move it around my insides. It hurts." Clancy is trying to jester with one hand and twist to expose this other place aliens probed him. Foreman restrains him, attempting to keep the arm still.

Foreman's arms are strong around Clancy despite his fighting. Foreman finally looks Clancy in the eye, "there is no such thing as aliens. There is no chip in your neck." Foreman's voice was full of steel and certainty. The kind of steel that is supported by arrogance, unfounded or not, a surety of spirit that comes from absolute, unquestioned belief.

Clancy was just as steely as Foreman, although his certainty came not from belief but from his own eyes. After all he had seen the aliens, felt them, been on their ships.

The team gathered together to report on their various findings. It was almost 4 pm so that meant that Robbie would be in from school soon, so they gathered in Diagnostics. House had asked if Robbie wouldn't rather hang out at the apartment or something along those lines, but Robbie was still being a little clingy. House wasn't being suffocated and figured that it would pass soon enough, after all the teenage years weren't that far off. God, why did he think to agree to this? How did he ever think to raise a child? House reminded himself to focus, this never used to happen, every time there was a puzzle he had always been focused completely on it. Sure he would go off and bother Cuddy or prank Wilson, but he never stopped thinking about the puzzle.

Foreman started off the group, "Upper and lower endoscopies were clean."

House mused out loud, "So it's a simple bleeding disorder."

Foreman immediately contradicts him, "No, blood tests were all normal. And he clotted in six minutes."

House nodded thoughtfully, "well what else could it be? No tares or punctures, Foreman's supposedly clean bleeding time test-"

Foreman is indignant at House's presumption that he had made an error. "What you think aliens abducted me and I lost time or something? He clotted in six minutes and I don't make mistakes!"

House snorts disdainfully, showing exactly how much faith he has in Foreman's assessment of his abilities. "So it's a UFO, unidentified flowing orifice. Either you screwed up the test, or I screwed up my analysis of this case. If you screwed up, I don't have to cry myself to sleep. It's a simple bleeding disorder. Cameron, redo the test."

Cameron exits Clancy's room she's staring intently at her clipboard, brows scrunched together in thought. She almost missed House and ran right into him. "Oh!" She snaps shut her clipboard. "Clancy has a bleeding disorder. I had to stop it myself after 25 minutes." She flips open the clipboard again as if the information would have changed. "I'm not sure what's going on, Foreman wouldn't have screwed up a test like this, but Clancy clearly wasn't clotting."

"Fine, we have two tests, two results, run the lab and we'll have an impartial third party decide your fate." 

House sat in his office, supposedly he was thinking of the lecture for the next class he was teaching, but he was really thinking about the new case and watching Robbie who was sitting at the Diagnostics table working on his homework.

It was strange to think that Robbie and Chase were the same person, House could sit there and miss Chase, what he would bring to the case, how he would have sent him in to get the scoop on Clancy (what a dumb name to sattle on a kid too!) and be spending time with Robbie. They might have had the same DNA but they had each become a person in their own right. What House was missing right now was Chase's unique ability to relate to the children that were patients. If he sent Cameron in there she'd get all weepy with the mother. Damn. He might have to actually interview for a new person. Finding another Chase would be difficult, there aren't very many masochistic, blond haired intinisvist that could ferret out –House sat up as a crazy idea struck.

House never approached a patients room if he could help it, but this was the first child they had had as a patient since Chase had become Robbie and his view on children had changed. He limped into the room with Robbie trailing quietly behind him. Clancy's parents were gone, House had timed it so they would be in the cafeteria for dinner. "Clancy, I'm one of your doctors, and this is my son Robbie." Robbie waves tentatively from behind House, he still tended to be shy around other children. "I was thinking that you might like to visit, it can get boring up here by yourself."

"Well?"

"Well what?" Robbie asked voice innocent with just a blush of smug. Clearly he was going to make House work for it. Buying dinner from the hospital cafeteria wasn't going to cut it.

"What did Clancy tell you? The aliens?"

Robbie sliced his chicken into even smaller pieces stringing House along, waiting for him to start to physically squirm. Finally Robbie determined that he had let House dangle long enough. "He really does believe in the aliens. He's really scared, they hurt him, a lot. He told me about the tests they run, how they put a chip in his neck." Robbie hesitates, his body slouches in and the confidence that was evident before has dissipated. "Is -is Clancy right? Are aliens real? Could I get abducted?" Robbie looks up from his artistic arrangement of chicken pieces and peas, his eyes met House's and House could see fear lurking.

House doubted that Robbie was truly afraid of aliens, but abduction was another matter. House had no doubt that one of Robbie's worst fears was being taken away from everything he knows for a third time. House knew that these next few words would be very important. "Aliens may or may not be real Robbie, but, and this is the most important part, no one alien or otherwise is going to take you away from me." House leaned forward his eyes wide, willing his confidence to transfer via his eyes and his energy. Robbie must have sensed something that he was trying to convey because his spine straightened and he started to eat with some vigor.

House's hand groped blindly from under the bedspread. Eventually it landed by mere happenstance on the ringing phone next to the bed. Snaking back under the covers a muffled "what?!" drifted out from the nest of blankets. After a short pause House very clearly and loudly said, "Well, you take Alpha Centauri, Cuddy can look on Tatooine, and Cameron can set up an intergalactic checkpoint. Let's pray he hasn't gone into hyperdrive! You'll never catch him. I don't know what you expect me to do from home so why did you even call me? Next time think before you dial!" The phone flew from beneath the covers and smacking into the wall, where a tinny voice emerged from the speaker asking if someone was still there.

Foreman was desperately rechecking the bathrooms on Clancy's floor and was about to start up to the next floor when he spotted some blood from underneath a stall. As he entered further he saw a foot sticking out and he quickly swung the door open where he stopped shocked at the sight of Clancy. Clancy had hunkered himself down into the stall and was using a scalpel to slice into the back of his neck. Clancy seemed to finally notice Foreman, but he didn't bother to stop digging into his neck. "I told you it was there and I'm going to prove it!" Clancy's hand shifted into a better grip, preparing to strike again.

Foreman quickly reacted and managed to grab Clancy's hand. "Clancy! No! There is no," Foreman's voice trailed off as he caught a glimpse of metal shining through the blood on Clancy's neck. "What is that?"

House slapped a piece of paper onto the Diagnostics table. "Results came back. The lab cannot identify the metal. They said it might not even be terrestrial."

Cameron was the first to take the bait, "what?"

"No, you idiot! It's titanium. Like from a surgical pin, like the kind the kid had inserted into his broken arm four years ago, nice medical history." This last comment is directed at Foreman, who had done the history on this case.

And of course Foreman would defend his work, because he doesn't make mistakes. "That pin was removed six months after –"

House doesn't really care about Foreman's honor, and more importantly clearly something was going on, "so what, a little piece broke off during removal."

Foreman doesn't believe that aliens are involved, but he doesn't think he made a mistake either so he reacts on the defensive, "Titanium is used to build space shuttles, pieces don't just break off."

House replies, "tell that to the guys on Apollo 13."

Foreman still isn't buying it, "and how exactly did it get from his arm to the back of his neck?"

Cameron finally chimes into the debate backing up House's idea "Body attacks any foreign object. Inflammatory reaction could have eroded into a vein, fragment gets a free ride."

Foreman can't disagree with her logic but, "to his lungs, maybe. But his neck? Never."

House knows that Foreman doesn't actually believe in aliens but can't resist winding him up,  
"yeah. An alien chip makes more sense. The real mystery is you didn't actually screw up. Kid carved a hole in the back of his neck, apparently didn't bleed to death. Now that's weird."

Cameron blinks, eyes wide and startled that this hadn't occurred to her, "He clotted on his own?"

House doesn't even blink, "Sure did. So first there was no bleeding disorder, then there was, now there's not again."

Cameron says, "Which is impossible."

Foreman jumps in assured that he is in the right, "Or Cameron screwed up. Two out of three tests agree with my findings."

House smirks at them all, "Lucky for us, the fourth test will be the charm."

Clancy's parents watched as Cameron drew blood again. They turned to Foreman, weary and wondering if these doctors knew what they were doing. This was the third time they bled Clancy for the same test and they seemed to just keep doing it. After last night they weren't even sure how Clancy had enough blood in his body for this.

"So you're just going to keep cutting him, until what he's out of blood completely?"

Foreman attempts to explain how this test is different from the previous ones, without making it sound like they should have just the new test in the first place, "This test is different. We'll draw some blood and see if any clotting factors are low or missing."

"But why haven't the other tests –"

Foreman knew there wasn't a good way to explain what was happening without making them seem incompetent, "We've had three results that haven't been consistent. One of them must be wrong." Of course Foreman was sure that he hadn't made a mistake and it was clearly backed up by the fact that two of the three tests were on his side.

Clancy's mom is less concerned with Foreman's culpability and is more interested in the fact that Clancy is so obsessed with his nightmares that he sliced open his neck, "is it possible the problem isn't his blood? It's just psychological? I mean, he almost killed himself."

Foreman really couldn't believe the ignorance of some people. "Even if Clancy has some -uh-problems, they wouldn't affect his blood's ability to clot."

"No, he just slices open his neck looking for an alien tracking device and bleeds to death." Foreman clearly doesn't know how to respond to this.

Cameron felt so bad for poor Clancy. And Clancy's parents, how they must be so upset. Cameron wasn't sure what she could say to Clancy. Clancy's hand moved, flexed really and she noticed a rosary. The family hadn't seemed to be religious, certainly not Catholic. "Clancy?" Cameron fingered the rosary, it seemed familiar, it was old, real silver that was tarnished. The cross had been polished more recently, but was old enough to be worn in the middle where a thumb might have rubbed it with worrying. "Where did you get this?"

Clancy tightened his grip, making it clear she could look but not take it away. "Robbie gave it to me, to protect me from the aliens." Clancy smiled a little, and Cameron was startled to realize it was the first time she had seen any kind of happiness from Clancy. "He said that it was loan, to protect from the aliens until his dad could figure out how to stop them. Robbie said his dad was the best, that he could solve anything." Clancy looked up beaming, "Robbie believes me. Everyone else thinks I'm crazy, but he understands that crazy things just keep happening to me." Clancy looks again at the rosary in his hands, rubbing the cross again and again. "Robbie is lucky to have such a great dad." Clancy looked like he was going to continue but he starts to wheeze grabbing at his chest.

Cameron leans over hair hanging onto the bed, "Still with us?" Cameron gripped Clancy's arm trying to elicit a response. Cameron shouted into the corder to a nurse coming toward them to answer the alarm, "Pulmonary edema, stage two hypertensive crisis!" 

Clancy's mother who had been down the hall started running toward the room, frantic, "What's happening?"

Cameron didn't have the time or the energy to deal with a frantic mother who knew nothing about medicine. "Get her out of here! Get him oxygen and start him on an IV drip of sodium nitroprusside."

Cameron is taking to House in one of their usual walking conversations, "Clancy's in ICU," Cameron turns to House stopping in the corridor, "did you tell Robbie to give Clancy that rosary?"

God, she always does this getting involved with patient's unimportant details. "No." House looked down and away, hoping to make this fast like pulling off a band-aid. Ohhh, he always hated that when he was a kid, his Marine of the father with his grit and bear it attitude.

"Well apparently Robbie is promising that God will save Clancy from the aliens and that you will fix everything. Did you send Robbie in there?" Cameron's voice started to increase in volume as she got more and more worked up. "House Robbie isn't Chase anymore, he's not some minion, he thinks he's your son. You'd better start acting more like a father and less like a boss."

They entered the lab in silence, House in the past would have said some cutting remarks designed to stray attention and mask his own feelings, but this was new territory, he had to be careful, it wasn't just himself that would crash and burn, but Robbie too. And he could keep his mouth shut (contrary to popular belief) at least for a while.

Foreman held up the test results, disbelief coloring his voice, "It is a bleeding disorder. Clancy tested positive for von Willenbrand's. I calibrated the machine and ran the test a second time. I didn't screw up. He must have clotted on his own but he also has a clotting disorder?" It wasn't really a question, but Foreman inflected it with enough doubt that it seemed more a query than a statement. That was pretty unusual for the normally over-self assured doctor.

Cameron seemed to finally start focusing on the case, although her eyes were completely unfocused, "maybe he cheated."

How dare she impinge on his mysterioso act! "Right. Kids always cheat on their bleeding time tests."

Cameron had to think fast, she made that statement with no idea of how to back the idea up. She had to think frantically. "I meant, he's clotting right now and he's in hypertensive crisis. Maybe the two are related. What if he was hypertensive the other two times that he clotted?" Really she was just thinking out loud but House picked up the ball and ran with it.

"Hypertensive crisis can activate clotting factors. Even someone low on von Willenbrand's could theoretically clot."

Foreman grasps this explanation with both hands, "And the first time Clancy clotted he was all worked up recounting his alien abduction; he could have easily have been hypertensive." Finally it all fits together, he didn't make a mistake, it all makes sense.

House says, "I know I get worked up when I cut microchip tracking implants out of my neck."

Cameron's voice is smug and superior, not a good look for her, "sounds like a cheat to me."

House has no problem sharing his feelings, "yeah, we get it. Okay, what's the differential for a seven-year-old boy suffering multiple hypertensive crises?"

The team is standing around staring at an image of Clancy's heart on the monitor in their office. Foreman is the first to make a judgment call, "it's clean, his heart isn't the problem."

House is not one to accept defeat, "why don't I have hi-def in my office? I'm a department head!"

Cameron wants to support House but she has to agree with Foreman on this one, "There are no structural defects. Valves are intact."

House doesn't really care what those two idiots think, he needs a better picture, because a defect must be there. He's not wrong. "Tissue characterization is impossible when the pixels are the size of Legos."

House stares at the plasma tv with envy, damn this thing is nice. "See, this is what I'm talking about. Foreman, you've got to steal this thing for me." He knows exactly where he would put it too. 

Foreman is used to these kinds of comments by now and can't even bring himself to care, "let me ring up one of the homies."

Cameron has to admit that the screen is nice but, "the clearer the image, the clearer it is that there are no masses, no clots, no tears. The problem's got to be somewhere else."

House can't give up, "we're gonna need a bigger boat."

Foreman glances at his watch, "don't you have class?"

Cameron and Foreman look at the full theater. After that first class that House taught they hadn't really bother to visit the rest of them, the novelty had worn off. Apparently that was not true for the rest of the world, because they weren't even sure how so many students had fit in the original auditorium. The students were all whispering to themselves. Foreman wanted to tell House he was wrong so they could move on, but he was oddly reluctant to do so when House was surrounded by his students. Instead he listened to the students whispers around him.

House spoke "there." His voice was normal, bu everyone heard him and a hush fell over the room.

Suddenly the room exploded with sound, whats? And where? Coming from every corner.

House wandered to the front, "Right there. Left side, no movement." He tries to gesture to it but the the image is too high, no one seems to see it. Cameron freezes the image. "Well, don't freeze it! Something's not moving, how do you see something not move if nothing's moving?" Cameron restarts the film. "I need the laser pointer."

Cameron hates to break it to him but, "we don't have a laser pointer."

God what kind of budget do they have, no plasma screen not even a laser pointer? He's going to have to fix that, "well, why not? Who's going to take us seriously if we don't have a laser pointer? Right here!" House smacks his cane onto the screen. "A few thousand myocytes not beating with the rest."

Foreman can't see what the big deal is, "So you found an arrhythmia."

"That's not an arrhythmia, that's a no-rhythmia. Myocytes contract, these aren't moving at all. Go get me those myocytes; I want to talk to them in my office. Class dismissed." House walks off the stage and the students break up murmuring about how awesome Dr. House is and how no one else could have spotted it.

Cuddy walks into House's office without knocking, it is after all her hospital. "How's the kid doing?"

House doesn't even glance up from his video game, "Robbie's good, made an A on his science project. Decided to build a robot. Apparently all this new tech to him is really fascinating." House looks up ad smirks at the put out expression on Cuddy's face. "Ohhh you mean the other kid, well he's not doing nearly as well, his heart nearly exploded. Still beating, though. Most of it, anyway." House resumes his game. They both know that Cuddy didn't come in here to talk about his most recent patient. By ignoring her it will help speed up the chit chat. 

"Why did you send Robbie into Clancy's room?" Ahhh works like a charm every time. "He's not your employee anymore!"

House always knew the best way to go on the defensive was to go on the offensive, and normally he would make a comment about Cuddy's boobs, but he decided not to push her maternal instances button since she was already in here about Robbie. He needed to save the trumped up hormone charge in case of emergency's. In this case honesty was going to have to be the best policy. He needed Cuddy in his corner for this one. "I did send Robbie in there, I needed information, Clancy needed comforting, and Robbie needs to feel needed. We all got what we wanted, so what's the problem?"

Cuddy sighed, it was rather hard to argue with House logic. There was always something twistedly right about it. Cuddy's gaze softened, "look just be careful not to fall into old habits, House. You've been doing so well-" House doesn't get to find out what else Cuddy was going to say as his beeper goes off, but it was just as well considering it was probably some mushy girly-emotional crap about becoming a father.

"Gotta go." House limps past with smirk at his get out of lecture free card.

Cameron set up the screen to display their test results, as much as she couldn't believe them, "Here's Clancy's DNA, and here's the DNA from the piece of that heart we just biopsied." They look just as impossible now as they had before.

House knew there was something wrong, but he couldn't imagine this, "that is impossible. Run it again."

For once House and Foreman are in agreement, "we already did. And once more after that."

Cameron forces herself to say what they can all see but can't believe, "The genes from Clancy's myocytes don't match the genes from the rest of his body."

House leans forward eyes glowing from the light of the monitor, "alien DNA." The words are whispered, and very un-House like but Cameron and Foreman can't disagree.

House was in the very rare position of being bamboozled. "Anybody watch any X-Files that inspired an explanation?"

Foreman offers an implausible scenario, which was not such a rare position for him, "there are ways DNA could become mutated. Extreme UV radiation."

House debunks it immediately, "that much sun, he'd be dying with a healthy bronze glow."

Cameron offers an equally ludicrous explanation, "nitrous acid or ethidium bromide exposure."

"So first Daddy was a rapist, now he's a chemist."

House turns and for half a second expects to see Chase sitting there with a wicked grin and a crack about aliens, or wide eyed belief in the impossible. But Chase wasn't there and now House knew he was going to have to hire a new fellow, damn it. Until then he'd have to depend on himself a little more to provide that third voice. "Various species of fungus have been proven mutagenic." House then debunks his own theory, knowing even as he mused out loud that it was wrong, "but unless the kid's been eating barrels of celery or living in Indonesia, or both it'd be impossible for this level...please someone give me a plausible, terrestrial explanation for this kid's alien DNA." He was practically begging. He didn't believe in aliens, not really but goddamn, what other kind of explanation was there for those mutated cells?

Foreman couldn't think of what else the cause could be, but that didn't change the course of action, "who cares what caused it? A kid comes in with strep, we don't conduct a search to see which classmate he got it from; we cure it. We know he's got this stuff inside of him; let's get a scalpel and cut it out."

Cameron didn't doubt the idea, but there were some serious holes, like, "where do we cut? Chances are it's not just in his heart."

Foreman had to concede Cameron's point, "well, we got lucky with the heart. Myocytes contract, we can see that these weren't working. I don't know how the hell we're going to find it anywhere else."

Cameron felt a light bulb go off, being around House for three years had to have some benefits, "what if we find the heart cells with the bad DNA and we tag them?"

House instantly picked up on the idea, but seeing Foreman's confused face he couldn't help needling Cameron for her "Housism" from earlier, "can you phrase that in the form of a metaphor?"

Cameron nodded happy to explain her idea, "it's the same way we search for cancer. The bad DNA creates a unique protein on the surface of the affected cells. We create an antibody that recognizes only that protein and we flush it throughout his system, and the similar cells light up like light bulbs."

"Sounds like a plan," House tossed his hand into the center of the table, House inflected his voice with the enthusiastic that characterized most pep rallies, "Teeeeeaaaaaam House GO!" Cameron and Foreman just give him a long exasperated look before calmly walking out.

House leaned back, watching them leave, contemplating.

Foreman and Cameron are in the booth as they scan Clancy. As always a conversation develops, "you're worried about Robbie?"

Cameron stared at the screen as she responded, "He's fine. There – clump of affected cells in the bone marrow of the femur. Explains the intermittent bleeding disorder."

Foreman still had his doubts, "I know I didn't really like Chase, but Robbie is just a kid, innocent. I know that I wouldn't want House raising me."

Cameron didn't want to tell Foreman about her conversation with House, but she needed to end the conversation, "I'm telling you, he's fine. We missed some affected areas in his heart, explains the continuing hypertensive issues."

Foreman was like a dog with a bone, "You said that House was using Robbie to get to Clancy, and now suddenly–"

Cameron jumps in, cutting him off before he can get much further, "I was wrong."

Foreman kept on, "so you changed your mind? Why?"

Cameron ignores the questions completely, "there's the reason for him needing glasses, apparently it's a symptom. Means the condition predates –"

Foreman just bulldozed right in, "you don't change your mind without a reason. What do you know?"

Cameron sighed exasperated, "House and I talked he explained the reasons, and they made sense. I don't see a need to elaborate."

The booth is silent for a few blessed minutes Foreman starts to speak and Cameron flinches involuntarily, "you think House has lost his step?"

Cameron was preparing to be upset and defensive, the change threw her and she spoke without thinking, "what?"

Foreman continued to speak as if he didn't hear her question, "'cause I don't need to subject myself to House's torture if there's no upside."

Cameron is a little more connected but still has no idea what Foreman is talking about. "What do you mean House is losing his touch?"

Foreman turned a frown marring his features, "what if Robbie is making House soft? He's not taking any chances all of his brilliant ideas in this case have been all yours."

Cameron wasn't sure how to respond but this time she was saved by the bell, "scan is complete." Thank God. "3 hot spots but nothing in his brain. House's original theory was right – it is not neurological."

They found themselves back in Diagnostics. "We removed all the foreign masses, but he started seizing. Clearly we missed some tissue but where?"

Foreman fell back on his original diagnosis, even more evidence that House was getting soft, "the hallucinations and seizures indicate problems in the temporal lobe. Sorry, House, it is neurological. Looks like you're wrong, first time for everything."

Cameron hated to admit it but it seemed Foreman was right this time, "we didn't miss anything. Brain scan was completely clean."

House had never given in that easily, "our tag must not have penetrated the blood-brain barrier. Don't use an IV this time; get it right into the brain."

House was walking toward his class when Foreman and Cameron joined him flanking each side, all the better to pester him.

Foreman says from one side, "his symptoms are neurological; his condition has to be neurological!"

Cameron hits from the other side, "his scan was clean, twice! It's not there!"

House pauses hand on the door to the auditorium, "what if it is there but didn't show up on the scan? What if the tag just doesn't work in his brain? Brain cells are structurally different, express a different protein."

Foreman always one to play devils advocate, "So how are we going to find it?" House walks away from the class.

Cameron is shocked at this irresponsibility, "where are you going? House! You have class!"

House doesn't even bother to turn around, "Correction you have class, I am going to think."

House tracked down his two fellows to give his stomping orders, "send the kid home."

Cameron was shocked, "what do you mean?"

House sighed, God he hated to deal with idiots, "make sure his blood pressure's stabilized and send him home." Of all the words that Cameron expected for House to say those had to be about dead last. Right around 'I love you' and 'I'm moving to New York to start a career on Broadway.' 

Foreman and Cameron shared a significant look. "Like nothing ever happened?" asked Foreman.

House seems to lack his usual arrogance, "we cured his bleeding disorder, removed all the damaged cells we could find."

Cameron tried to talk sense into House, "we don't know that we fixed anything, it's only been a day. Maybe these symptoms come and go like the blood disorder."

House snorted, "it's more probable that his remaining symptoms are just a nightmare."

Foreman is aghast, "he had a convulsion."

House shrugged, "may be epilepsy, may be psychological, may be nothing. If the kid gets sick again it'll give us another clue, we can start searching again. If he doesn't, it doesn't matter. Send him home." House limped away.

Cameron stood in conference with Cuddy and Wilson. It was after House's marching orders and class, which had been a nightmare, she hadn't had anything prepared. Instead she and Foreman had present their two papers of the same case.

Cameron couldn't meet Cuddy or Wilson's eyes, "I think that Foreman might be right. House is losing his touch. He wants to send Clancy home, wait and see if anymore symptoms pop up."

"House? Sending a patient that he hasn't figured out home?"

Wilson's reaction is only a split second behind Cuddy's, "something is wrong. You need a cunning plan, and fast."

Cuddy, grimaces at her back, "she's not nearly as delightful as she thinks she is."

Cuddy shouts across the lot, "House! You're just giving up on this kid?" Cuddy rushed to House's side.

House stopped but didn't turn, "you've got to know when to stop."

Cuddy's voice was soft, non-confrontational, "you don't stop, you never stop, you just keep on going until you come up with something so insane that it's usually right."

House, "except on this case."

Cuddy scoffed, "don't be pathetic. This kid obviously has something wrong with him. You need to run some more tests, think on it and come up with some crazy idea that works."

House, turned and studied Cuddy more closely, "when did you develop such strong opinions about my patients?"

Cuddy sighed, "this one is a young boy. His parents are desperate. Just get together with your team, spend a few extra hours –" She watched as House flinched back. Cuddy's face softened, "House, this boy is not Robbie." Cuddy touched House's arm grounding him, "I know that it's scary to start caring about another human being, but the best thing you can do for this boy is to find his cure."

House wasn't sure what to say so he fell to sarcasm to give himself time to think, "well, I guess we could amputate his left leg. That's where we found most of it. Maybe we could just remove his affected eye completely."

Cuddy grimaced but her voice was careful and questioning, "is that what you think you should do?"

House turned those wide blue eyes on her, "I'm not going to start lopping off body parts, but it's interesting that you'd give me the green light."

Cuddy threw up her hands exasperated, "I just want you to do something. I don't want you to lose your edge, Robbie has been good for you, but I don't want you to lose that spark that makes you House."

"No you don't want to lose my stats, which bring in donations and prestige. If I lose my edge even a little you lose your cash cow. First Cameron thinks I don't care about Robbie enough and now you think I care too much. I know that I'm not Robbie's father but-" House puts his helmet back down and walks off completely oblivious to Cuddy's calls.

Back in Diagnostics Cameron and Foreman are discussing House's new wait and see attitude when he busts into the office, "our assumptions are faulty."

Foreman's face scrunches a bit, confused, "We've confirmed two different sets of DNA, we re-ran the sequence. Twice."

"I didn't say the lab work was faulty, I said our assumptions were faulty. We assumed he's a person."

Foreman roles his eyes, "of course, the aliens didn't just visit him, they replaced him."

"Well, you're just being silly. What if he's not a person, what if he's two persons?"

Cameron is feeling just as confused as Foreman and now the metaphor is on the other foot. "I'm not getting the metaphor."

House shakes his head, "no metaphor. Foreman, you said the mom used in vitro fertilization, right?"

Foreman shrugs, "yeah, they had trouble conceiving. So what?"

House smiles knowing he's right, "the kid was right all along, he was implanted with something. Back when he was really young, I mean really young, I mean twelve cells young. In vitro increases the likelihood of twinning."

Cameron protests, "but he doesn't have a twin." 

"Not walking around." House wags a finger, "but in vitro fertilization costs about 25 grand a pop. So doctors implant about two to six embryos to make sure you get your money's worth. Problem is, there's not always enough bedrooms for all of the kiddies. Two brothers get stuck sharing, there's no bunk beds, so they cuddle up to keep warm. They never untangle. He's two people in one. It's called chimerism."

The whole group has gather in Clancy's room and even Robbie is there. "So this is it, he's cured now?"

House nodded, "yes, we managed to get the last of the bad cells."

Clancy smiles up at House, "thank you so much." Then Clancy turns to Robbie, his smile turning beatific, "and thank you." He extends his hand, rosary dangling, "you gave one of your most valued possessions. And your dad really is awesome." Robbie shyly steps forward and takes back his rosary, one of his few possessions from 'his' apartment that he recognizes from before. Taking it he tucks it away and they slip away letting the family reform.

As they walk away House leans down to Robbie, "you know you gave something even more precious than God," House fingers the cross dangling from Robbie's pocket. "You gave him hope." 


End file.
